Prayer Energized by Intimacy with God
I. JOURNEY INTO 24/7 PRAYER
A. In May 1983, during a Solemn Assembly (21 days of fasting and prayer), the Lord spoke audibly in context to
Ps. 27:4, saying: “I will release 24-hour prayer in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David.” David gave leadership to a prayer
and worship ministry in his generation that was led by 4,000 full-time paid musicians and 288 full-time paid prophetic
singers (1 Chr. 23:5; 25:7).
4 One thing I have desired of the LORD…that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold
the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple. (Ps. 27:4)
B. The End-Time Church will “pray in conjunction with prophetic singing” to invite Jesus to return. The war cry of the
Church’s intercession will come forth from love songs the Spirit will give us.
10 Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is
in it, you coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that
Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory to
the LORD, and declare His praise in the coastlands. 13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His
zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. 14 "I have held My peace
a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills (judgments seen in the book of Revelation)...” (Isa. 42:10-15)
C. In July 1988, the Lord said that He would release grace to the Body of Christ worldwide to walk in Song 8:6-7.
The “intimacy with God” message as seen in the Song of Solomon will be vital.
6 Set Me (Jesus) as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for (God’s) love is as strong as death, (God’s) jealousy
as cruel (demanding) as the grave; its flames are flames of fire…7 Many waters (persecution, sin, pressures, etc.)
cannot quench love… (Song 8:6-7)
1. In the ancient world, kings put a “seal of wax” on important documents. They encased them with wax then stamped
it with the king’s signet ring. God sets a “seal of fire” on our heart. It is the fire of divine love or the anointing to experience
the love of God.
2. This love is as strong or as comprehensive as death. Death claims all. Its grasp is comprehensive. Nothing in the
natural order escapes the power of death. So also, God’s love will not allow any areas of brokenness to escape its grasp.
God’s love poured in our heart will conquer every area of sin that we continually yield to Him. This love is also described
as being “as jealous as the grave” or as demanding (comprehensive) as death.
5 The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit... (Rom. 5:5)
3. Water always puts out fire (unless it is God’s supernatural fire). The enemy will send the waters of persecution,
temptation, apathy, disappointment, pain, etc. to put this fire out.
15 The serpent (Satan) spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman (End-Time Israel), that he might cause
her to be carried away by the flood. (Rev. 12:15)
II. THE REVELATION OF JESUS AS THE BRIDEGROOM GOD: “OIL OF INTIMACY”
1 Then the Kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet (encounter) the
Bridegroom…3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels…
5 The Bridegroom was delayed…8 and the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going
out.' (Mt. 25:1-8)
A. In Mt. 25:1, Jesus said, “then” the Kingdom of God will be like virgins going out to encounter Jesus as the
Bridegroom God. The question is “when is then?” Mt. 24-25 is one teaching on the End-Times. The context of
Mt. 25 is how the Church will live in the generation the Lord returns.
B. In the End-Times the Kingdom of God will be likened to people who encounter Jesus as a Bridegroom God.
We refer to the bridal paradigm of the Kingdom (paradigm means perspective or view). The Bridal paradigm refers
to the “bridal perspective” of the Kingdom of God. We see the Kingdom through the eyes of a wholehearted Bride
with loyal devoted love.
C. The Bridegroom message is a call to intimacy with God (not to see Jesus as our lover-boyfriend).
10 The Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God...12 we have received...the Spirit...that we might know
(experience) the things that have been freely given to us by God.
(1 Cor. 2:10-12)
D. The Bridal message speaks of God’s invitation for us to experience the deep things of His heart (emotions,
affections). To enjoy active intimacy with Jesus includes feeling His heart for us.
18 You may be able to comprehend….the width and length and depth and height-- to know (experience) the love
(affections) of Christ... (Eph 3:18-19)
E. As sons of God, we are in the position to experience God’s Throne as heirs of His power (Rev. 3:21; Rom. 8:17).
As the Bride, we are in the position to experience God’s heart (affections or emotions for us). Both describe our position
of privilege before God, rather than pointing to something that is intrinsically male or female.
F. Most Christian women do not struggle with the idea of being sons of God because they do not see it as a call to
be less feminine. However, often men struggle with being the Bride of Christ because they wrongly conclude that it is a
call to become less masculine. Experiencing the reality of being the Bride of Christ does not undermine one’s masculinity,
but rather it strengthens it.
G. Some of the greatest men of God experienced the essential reality of the bridal message.
King David was Israel’s greatest warrior king, yet he was a lovesick worshipper, ravished by God’s desire for him and
fascinated by His beauty (Ps. 27:4). One of the central issues of David’s life, as a man after God’s own heart, was in
being a student of God’s emotions.
John the apostle was called the Son of Thunder and he described himself five times as the one whom Jesus loved (Jn. 13:23;
19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). John the Baptist was a prophet that Jesus called the “greatest man” (Mt. 11:11). He understood
Jesus as the Bridegroom God (Jn. 3:29).
III. WHAT IS THE BRIDEGROOM MESSAGE?
A. Foundational to understanding the Bridegroom message is the Fatherhood of God message.
B. The Bridegroom message includes the revelation of Jesus’ emotions for us as a Bridegroom God. Jesus the
Bridegroom is filled with tender mercy. He is gentle with our weakness. Some confuse rebellion and immaturity. God is
angry at rebellion, but He is tender towards sincere immature believers that seek to obey Him. He enjoys us even in
our weakness (Ps. 18:19, 35; 130:3-4). Knowing this makes us run to God instead of from Him when we see our sin and weakness.
C. Jesus the Bridegroom has a heart of gladness (happy heart). Jesus had more gladness than any man in history
(Heb. 1:9). Most of Church history has viewed God as mostly mad or mostly sad when He relates to us. Jesus is mostly
glad when He relates to us, even in our weakness. Jesus the Bridegroom has fiery affections or has burning desire and
longing for us. The Church will be cleansed by experiencing the cherishing heart of Jesus (Eph. 5:26-29). To understand
Jesus as a passionate Bridegroom is to soon see ourselves as a cherished Bride.
D. The End-Time Church will be in deep unity with the Holy Spirit in saying and doing what the Spirit is saying and
doing. What is the Spirit doing? He is interceding for Jesus to come. What is the Spirit saying? He is revealing the
Church’s bridal identity (who we are as Jesus’ Bride).
17 And the Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!" (Rev. 22:17)
E. Rev. 22:17 prophesies of the function of the End-Time Church in 4 ways: 1). anointed with the Spirit, 2). engaged in
intercession, 3). established in our bridal identity and 4). effective in the Harvest. This will be the first time that the Church
world wide will be in unity with the Spirit.
F. The 3-fold prayer of the End-Time Church for Jesus to come:
1. Come NEAR US in intimacy (individual breakthrough of my heart in God)
2. Come TO US in revival (regional or national breakthrough of the Spirit in revival)
3. Come FOR US in the sky (historical breakthrough by the Second Coming of Jesus)
G. As we experience the “oil of intimacy” with Jesus we feel loved and in love. Without this, we more easily
compromise or become discouraged and wounded and spiritually bored.
H. We can lose perspective by becoming focused more on our secondary blessings (circumstances). If we lose the
“oil of intimacy” then our heart gets wounded and burned out. Some of our wounds and disappointments are a signpost
that our secondary rewards have become first place in our heart. Some of our pain that results is designed to let us know
that our heart must return back to the place where our focus is again on Jesus as our primary reward.
I. When Jesus is our primary reward, there is no guarantee that we will live pain free. However, when our spirit is
invigorated by encountering Jesus, our disappointments are much more manageable in the grace of God because we
see things differently.
IV. THE REVELATION OF GOD’S DELIGHT IN HIS PEOPLE
A. In November 1995, I had a prophetic dream exhorting me to call God’s people “Hephzibah.”
4 You shall be called Hephzibah...for the LORD delights in you…5 For as the bridegroom rejoices (enjoys) over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you. 6 I have set watchmen on your walls…they shall never hold their peace (be silent,
NAS) day or night…7 give Him no rest till He establishes…Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (Isa. 62:4-7)
B. The “Hephzibah message” is that God delights in us and rejoices over us as a Bridegroom rejoices over a bride.
It is the same as the Song of Solomon message or David’s beauty of God message. They each point to intimacy with
God and a revelation of God’s emotions.
C. Jesus as our Bridegroom is ravished with desire and has passionate affection for His people.
9 You have ravished My heart…My spouse; you have ravished My heart with one look of your eyes… 10 How fair
(beautiful) is your love… (Song 4:9-10)
D. The “watchman message” is the call to seek the breakthrough of God’s blessing through persistent prayer.
I labored in prayer for years for a breakthrough of revival without experiencing the “Hephzibah” message. One of the
main reasons that intercessors get burned out is the lack of encountering Jesus during the years of waiting for the
breakthrough of revival.
E. When God delays the answer to our prayers, we can become disappointed. When our hope (expectation) is delayed
or deferred, then our heart becomes sick with despair.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick… (Prov. 13:12)
F. Our prayer life can only be sustained and energized by active intimacy with Jesus. God desires that we experience
our greater reward (inside of our heart) as the way to sustain us while we wait on God’s blessing and power in outward
circumstances.
1. Our primary reward is the Lord Himself fascinating and tenderizing our hearts.
2. Our secondary reward is the breakthrough of God’s blessing and power on our ministry, physical body (healing),
family, finances, relationships, etc.
G. Experiencing intimacy with God causes our hearts to be lovesick for Jesus.
5 Sustain me…refresh me…for I am lovesick. (Song 2:5)
8 If you find my Beloved (Jesus)...tell Him I am lovesick! (Song 5:8)
H. The Holy Spirit will soon emphasize God’s plan to call the Church into her bridal identity as the way to sustain
persistent intercession for the great End-Time revival before Jesus’ return. The Spirit is raising up forerunners who
will walk out and announce this plan to prepare the Church.